HONG KONG, June 2, 2026, 16:18 (HKT)
- Alibaba’s shares in Hong Kong last traded at HK$130.80, gaining 6.5%. The stock reached as high as HK$131.20 earlier.
- The move took place during a full session in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng Tech Index finished up, too.
- The next question is if AI spending helps cloud revenue climb without putting more pressure on margins.
Alibaba Group Holding shares rallied in Hong Kong on Tuesday, closing at HK$130.80 after starting the session at HK$122.80. Investors picked up Chinese internet stocks linked to AI, with Alibaba trading between HK$123.40 and HK$131.20.
The rally is in focus now as investors move past just chips and data centres. Traders are after “AI adoption,” or how AI gets picked up in regular apps, shopping, payments, and support lines. Alibaba, Tencent, and Meituan each have vast user bases in place to trial new features.
Hong Kong’s stock market ran a normal schedule on Tuesday, with regular trading hours from 9:30 a.m. to noon and again from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The session finished with a closing auction. According to HKEX’s 2026 holiday calendar, the next day off is June 19 for the Tuen Ng Festival.
Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 3.46% to 5,136.49, according to HKEX data. Tencent, Meituan and Baidu moved higher too. Alibaba gained as part of the wider tech rally, not just on its own story.
Tencent shares got a lift after a new report said the company is nearing a launch of a WeChat AI agent. The Financial Times said Tencent is testing an assistant that can do tasks inside WeChat, lining up a challenge to Alibaba and ByteDance on consumer AI.
“While one day’s price action does not establish a trend, the divergence may suggest investors may be broadening their AI exposure,” David Scutt wrote in a note for Investing.com. Scutt said Tuesday’s move pointed to investors looking past infrastructure buildout to companies that stand to gain from broader AI adoption. Investing.com UK
Alibaba has pushed the same pitch for months. On May 11, it said the Qwen app now connects to Taobao’s entire product catalogue, with a Qwen-driven shopping assistant built into Taobao. Users can chat to browse, compare, order, and track deliveries, skipping keyword searches.
Alibaba’s new earnings show the costs of its shift. Quarterly revenue was up 3% but still below estimates, according to Reuters on May 13. Adjusted EBITA fell 84% as Alibaba spent on AI, cloud, and quick commerce.
Chief Executive Eddie Wu told analysts the returns from Alibaba’s investments in AI plus Cloud and e-commerce are getting clearer, saying, “our technology investments are beginning to pay off commercially.” Wu added that Alibaba is aiming for growth above the market and said, “margin is still secondary.” Reuters
Alibaba reported a 38% jump in cloud revenue for the March quarter, with AI products accounting for 30% of external cloud sales, according to Reuters. But investors are weighing if the outlays on servers, models and subsidies will bring steady profit.
E-commerce pressure is in focus again. The Wall Street Journal said Meituan’s first-quarter loss came in narrower than forecast, but the ongoing food delivery price fight with Alibaba and JD.com is still cutting into margins. That price war means quick-commerce subsidies may not go away if the competition stays tough.
AI optimism could stall fast if Tencent’s new agent rollout drags, if Alibaba’s Qwen launch fails to drive user spending, or if profit growth from cloud gets wiped out by quick commerce. In that case, Tuesday’s bounce might just be short-covering and not a true Alibaba re-rating.
Alibaba’s U.S.-traded shares (NYSE: BABA) were last seen at $125.40 before the regular session, up $1.20 from the prior close. The board signed off on an annual cash dividend for fiscal 2026 at $0.13125 per ordinary share, or $1.05 per ADS. Shareholders on record as of June 11 are eligible for the payout.
